Many years ago, Mikael Håfström (1408, Escape Plan) made Shanghai, a ’40s-set mystery with a splashy international cast that included his 1408 star John Cusack along with Chow Yun-fat, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Franka Potente, Gong Li, David Morse and Ken Watanabe. The film saw release in many countries, but sat on the shelf in the US after being purchased by — you guessed it — The Weinstein Company.

Now the film is finally poised for what amounts to a too little/too late release in the US, where it will ultimately end up as a Tuesday night Netflix watch for many audiences. But there’s a new domestic Shanghai trailer to show it off, which you can see below. Read More »

You’d think an epic WWII espionage thriller set in Shanghai, starring John Cusack and directed by Mikael “1408” Håfström would be an easy sell. But maybe not, if it’s really just a trip to dullsville. Shanghai was pushed around on the Weinstein Company schedule for a while last year before being pushed off indefinitely. We’ve seen stills for the film, but now there’s an international trailer. If this clips is anything to judge the film by, no wonder TWC didn’t want to spend money to advertise and release it. Read More »

On September 30th, 1994, Louise Longo, her husband, and her daughter went on a yacht cruise on the Bay of Biscay. When they were overtaken by a brutal storm, they decided to brave the waters on a lifeboat, rather than risk being taken down with the yacht. Floating just 40 miles away from the coast with no food or water, they waited weeks for help that never came. When Longo was eventually rescued, her husband and daughter were both already dead. But what exactly happened? Did the elements simply take their toll on the pair? Or were there more diabolical elements at work?

Longo wrote an account of her plight in the book Let Me Survive, which is now slated to be made into a film called Wave. The film will begin shooting in February 2009, and Franka Potente, who has appeared in films such as The Bourne series will star. Maria Ripoll will direct a script by Marie-Laure Bertehlin and Greg Latter.

For me, this story conjures up feelings of transcendent horror that are a challenge for any actor to convey. But Potente’s work has always been incredibly varied, with diverse turns in films and shows such as Run Lola Run andThe Princess and the Warrior, not to mention her role as the monstrous, cold-blooded mob boss Diro Kesakhian in season 6 of The Shield. She’s always a joy to watch, I can’t wait to see what she does with this character.